Sony and The Future of E3
As a kid who grew up loving video games, E3 has always been one of my favorite weeks of the year. It celebrated the end of the school and the beginning of summer vacation with a digital parade of the amazing titles that I would be playing in the future. As an adult I still anticipate E3 just as much, I take time off work to be able to watch and read coverage of the show and most importantly enjoy the press conferences. However in recent years the relevance of E3 has come into question as major console manufacturer Sony Playstation has chosen to not have a press conference or show floor presence at E3 2019 and this year at E3 2020. In this week’s article I will be unpacking Sony’s history at E3 and what their absence at the show means for the future of this coveted media event.
Sony began its long, storied history with the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 1995 as they showcased the original Playstation while unveiling its price and release date. They continued this trend of showcasing their latest consoles with announcements for the Playstation 2 at E3 2000, Playstation 3 at E3 2005 and Playstation 4 at E3 2013. Playstation and E3 announcements go hand in hand when it comes to their console launches, which is what makes Sony’s absence at this year’s show that much more mysterious. Why pass up this opportunity to deliver news about PS5 pricing, release date, launch titles, new features, etc? In a recent article on gamesindustry.biz, Christopher Dring reports that Sony “does not feel the vision for the event is right for what they have planned this year.”[1]
Looking back on E3 2013, it felt like an epic showdown between Playstation and Xbox for which system would dominate the next generation of console gaming. I will never forget watching the Xbox Press Conference on the morning of June 11th and being so confused by their focus on always online gaming and TV service applications, not to mention their steep price point of $499 USD. Fast forward later that evening when I was literally cheering on my couch as Playstation unveiled exactly the system I wanted: a console capable of playing physical disks online or offline for the lower price of $399 USD. That day Playstation won a pivotal battle in the console war and gave themselves a huge sales advanage for most of the generation. Not having this friendly rivalry at E3 2020 may have lasting impact for sales of the next generation’s consoles. Without Sony at E3, all eyes fall to Microsoft to see what Xbox has planned for Series X.
On January 13th, Xbox was quick to respond to the news of Sony skipping E3 2020. Phil Spencer has stated on twitter that his “team is hard at work on E3, we look forward to sharing with all who love to play what's ahead for us. Our artform has consistently been propelled by the cross-section of creativity and technical progress. 2020 is a milestone year in that journey for Team Xbox.”[2] It is obvious that Microsoft has big plans for E3 2020. Spencer and his team have been setting themselves up very nicely as we close the life of the Xbox One. With the hugely successful subscription service Game Pass and their streaming service xCloud, these strategic moves have put Microspot in an interesting position where they have the chance to overtake Playstation as the best-selling console of next-gen with Series X.
As a longtime Playstation fan I am disappointed that there won’t be a Sony presence at E3, however I am excited about finding out when we will have more info on PS5. By not sharing the news spotlight at E3, Sony could make their own announcement event at a different time and completely dominate the news cycle. Sony doesn’t need the stage of E3 to make headlines and preorders, however their absence does call the relevance and future of E3 into question. Only time will tell how their absence will affect the media event long term, but for now my attention falls to both Sony and Microsoft as we all await the next generation of console gaming.
[1] Dring, Christopher. “Playstation Will Not participate in E3 2020.” gamesindustry.biz, 13 January 2020.
[2] @xboxp3. Our team is hard at work on E3, we look forward to sharing with all who love to play what's ahead for us. Our artform has consistently been propelled by the cross-section of creativity and technical progress. 2020 is a milestone year in that journey for Team Xbox. #XboxE3 #E32020, January 13, 2020, 8:40 p.m https://twitter.com/XboxP3/status/1216943255163531264?s=20
